Bianca sensed something was off but didn’t push further since Reese clearly didn’t want to talk about it. She reassured Reese, saying she could always reach out if she needed help and that she didn’t have to face everything alone.
With a forced smile, Reese nodded in thanks, and after a comforting pat from Bianca, they entered the agency together.
The filming for the second episode came up quickly, and this time, the show introduced a new format to boost its popularity. Participants had to pair up, with one male and one female, and work together on a joint performance.
This new format was designed to spark interest and highlight the dynamic partnerships, boosting the show’s ratings and raising its profile.
During the selection process on stage, the female participants randomly chose their male partners by picking names displayed on a large screen.
Reese was the first to take the stage for the selection. As the host began, the screen started scrolling through the names. With her eyes closed, Reese silently hoped to avoid one name in particular…
“Stop!”
A gasp swept through the audience as the screen paused. Reese’s heart sank as she opened her eyes and saw the name she feared most-Blake-lit up on the screen.
It was unclear whether this pairing was a planned move by the production team or just a coincidence.
Before that certain event, Reese would have eagerly welcomed the chance to pair up with him, but now she just felt uneasy.
Ever since her drunken confession of love, she had kept her distance from Blake at work. Their interactions became awkward, and they hadn’t really talked much lately.
After a quick touch-up, Blake looked up to see Reese approaching, her face nervous. She hesitated before saying, “If you don’t want to pair up with me, you can have Bianca talk to the production team for us.”
Blake looked at her and replied, “Why wouldn’t I want to be your partner?”
Caught off guard and embarrassed, Reese quickly looked away, unsure of what to say.
“Don’t worry about that night. It’s in the past. We’re here to work now, and there’s no reason our personal history should get in the way. Onstage, we’re both competitors and collaborators,” Blake said earnestly. He didn’t think the situation had caused much trouble. They just needed to clear things up. There was no need for lingering resentment, especially since it was Reese who had been keeping her distance from him.
Seeing the calm and sincere look in his eyes, Reese realized she might have been overreacting. She gave him a small, apologetic smile.
“Let’s focus on our performance,” Blake continued. “With your talent, I’m confident we’ll shine. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Meanwhile, backstage, a woman with flawless makeup stood hidden in the shadows, overhearing the entire conversation between Reese and Blake.
Having caught every word, Natalie stepped out of her hiding place as they walked away, a sly smile tugging at her lips.
‘It seemed like they were hiding something.’
In the end, Blake and Reese decided on their performance for the stage play segment, with Reese doing most of the acting and Blake mostly singing.
They barely had time to rehearse since it was a last-minute two-person performance. Before they knew it, it was time to go onstage.
From backstage, Bianca silently cheered them on.
“Next, let’s welcome Blake and Reese! They’ll be performing a two-person stage play, ‘Francesca Quinn’. Both of them are talented performers, so I’m excited to see their performance!”
As soon as the host finished introducing them, the audience erupted in applause. It was clear that more than half of the people had come just to see them.
The red velvet curtains on stage rose, revealing Reese, dressed in a white nightdress, portraying the heroine, Francesca Quinn. She stood gracefully, leaning against a simple windowsill set.
“Francesca Quinn” was a story of love and hardship set in the countryside. The heroine, Francesca, is deeply in love with a man from a poor farm, but her parents despise him, causing conflict between the couple. The drama intensifies when her parents force her to marry a nobleman against her will. Trapped in a life she didn’t choose, Francesca faces the heartbreaking decision to end her own life to protect the love she cherishes.
All the cameras focused on Reese, playing Francesca, as she approached a door and knocked frantically, panic clearly showing on her face.
Francesca had come to seek comfort from her boyfriend, the farmer boy played by Blake. When Blake opened the door, Reese suddenly went off-script, throwing herself into his arms. She couldn’t speak; instead, she clung to him, silent tears streaming down her face as he embraced her.
The audience, including Bianca, thought this tender moment was part of the performance, and they watched intently, holding their breath.
Only Reese knew the truth. This was her only chance to hold the man she loved. Once the performance ended, they would go their separate ways.
While Francesca might have hugged her lover on stage, Reese held a man who would never love her back.
As the third act began, only Blake was left in the room where they had shared their embrace. He stood silently, reading a thick diary.
The pages of the diary were shown on the big screen. Bianca quickly recognized the handwriting-it was Reese’s. She realized that Reese must have written everything herself.
The diary revealed Francesca’s thoughts and feelings, and soon, a boy’s name started to appear on the pages. As the diary went on, his name seemed to take over, filling nearly every page.
The tone of the diary shifted from a story of beauty to something much darker. It follows the young girl’s journey from falling in love to struggling with the heartache caused by her parent’s disapproval of her boyfriend. The entries revealed the heartbreaking twist when her parents forced her into an arranged marriage with a nobleman, turning the once beautiful pages somber.
The words grew more sorrowful as the boy read on until he could no longer bear to continue.
Finally, he reached the end. His fingers trembled as he turned the last page as if it took all his courage.
At last, on the clean white paper, just a few words stood out, heavy with sorrow: “Raphael, I will only be yours. See you in the next life, darling.”
The performance ended with Blake singing a solo while Reese danced in the background.